Pakistan Plotting Kabul Power Shift? New Report Says Islamabad Is Exploring Regime Change Options

November 21, 2025
Khaama Press

Pakistan is exploring political options for a potential power shift in Kabul, reviving contacts with Afghan opposition groups amid tensions with the current leadership.

Pakistan is reassessing its long-standing approach to Afghanistan amid deepening tensions with the Taliban government, U.S.-based publication New Lines reported, citing sources who say Islamabad is exploring political alternatives in Kabul.

According to the report, Pakistan has revived political contacts with members of the Afghan opposition party after months of deteriorating relations with the Taliban. Sources described Islamabad as “considering scenarios” that could reshape the political balance in Afghanistan.

The publication said Pakistan’s security calculus has shifted sharply in recent months, driven by the Taliban’s warming ties with India, stalled peace initiatives, and the surge in attacks by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group Islamabad considers its most urgent security challenge.

New Lines reported that Pakistani intelligence officials believe the Taliban leadership has grown increasingly unresponsive to security concerns, particularly regarding TTP networks operating across the border. Islamabad fears this trend could undermine its domestic stability.

Pakistan’s involvement in Afghan affairs is not new. For decades, Islamabad played a pivotal role in shaping political outcomes in Kabul, supporting mujahideen factions in the 1980s and maintaining close, if complicated, relations with the Taliban during and after their rise in the 1990s.

Analysts say Pakistan’s current concerns echo previous periods of strategic anxiety, especially when Kabul’s alignment drifted toward New Delhi. India’s expanding diplomatic outreach to the Taliban has heightened Islamabad’s unease, reviving old geopolitical rivalries in South Asia.

The report said Pakistan has the military capability and intelligence networks to pressure Taliban leaders, given its decades-long familiarity with the group’s structure. However, any aggressive strategy risks destabilizing Afghanistan further and generating a new wave of refugees.

Sources told the publication that Islamabad has quietly opened communication channels with representatives of the Afghan opposition party, signaling interest in exploring alternative political arrangements should relations with the Taliban continue to deteriorate.

Opposition figures have reportedly treated Pakistan’s outreach with caution. Members of the party told the publication that Islamabad has historically tried to influence Afghan political groups and that any engagement must align with Afghanistan’s national interests.

Some opposition officials said closer coordination with Pakistan carries political risks, given the widespread belief among Afghans that Islamabad seeks to shape Kabul’s politics to its advantage. Others argued that cooperation is worth considering if it leads to regional stability.

New Lines said that if Pakistan were to place its political weight and financial networks behind anti-Taliban factions, it could significantly alter the balance of power. Past examples, such as support provided to mujahideen groups and, later, the Taliban; demonstrate how Pakistan’s backing can reshape conflict dynamics.

Analysts warn that any major shift in Pakistan’s strategy could revive cycles of instability that have defined Afghanistan for decades. Regional powers, including India, Iran and China, are closely watching developments, aware that even small adjustments in Islamabad’s policy can ripple across South Asia.

Pakistan Plotting Kabul Power Shift? New Report Says Islamabad Is Exploring Regime Change Options
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Spain to Host Third Conference on Afghanistan’s Women’s Rights in December

November 21, 2025

Written By: Najeebullah Rahmati, Phd Scholar, EFL University

Spain will host the third “Hear Our Voice” conference on Afghanistan’s women’s rights in Madrid on December, focusing on justice and accountability.

The third conference on Afghan women, titled “Hear Our Voices,” will be held on December 12 in Madrid. Hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the European Union and the Afghanistan Women’s Organization, this significant event aims to address the ongoing crisis facing Afghan women and girls under the Taliban regime. The conference will bring together global leaders, human rights advocates, and experts to discuss ways to create an actionable roadmap for justice and accountability.

This year’s conference will focus on using “all tools for justice and accountability,” particularly through international legal mechanisms, to ensure that Afghanistan women and girls receive long-term protection of their human rights. The goal is to develop a practical framework that emphasizes gender equality and safeguards against the oppressive measures imposed by the Taliban. With the participation of the Spanish Foreign Minister, activists, international leaders, and ambassadors from various countries, the conference aims to create a united front to defend women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The “Hear Our Voices” conference is not the first of its kind. The first session, held in Albania last year, gathered Afghan women, human rights defenders, and international representatives to discuss the dire situation in Afghanistan. Following this, the second conference in Madrid in December last year, focused on condemning the Taliban’s restrictive policies, particularly those that ban girls from attending school and limit women’s participation in public life. During both meetings, attendees called for the immediate repeal of decrees that infringe upon basic rights, with a strong emphasis on accountability for the Taliban’s actions.

Building on the momentum of these previous conferences, this third event aims to produce a comprehensive roadmap for justice. The anticipated outcome is a detailed action plan that outlines concrete steps for the international community to take in response to the Taliban’s violations of women’s rights. This includes utilizing international legal frameworks and humanitarian channels to ensure Afghan women’s voices are not silenced in the face of continued oppression.

The series of conferences on Afghan women’s rights highlights the international community’s commitment to addressing the crisis in Afghanistan. The collaboration between governments, international organizations, and grassroots activists provides a powerful platform to advocate for change. As the world continues to focus on the plight of Afghan women, it is essential to push for the protection of their fundamental rights and ensure the accountability of those responsible for their suffering.

The “Hear Our Voices” conference represents hope and solidarity, offering a chance for Afghan women to have their stories heard on a global stage. By uniting in the fight for justice, we can work toward a future where Afghanistan women and girls are free from oppression and can fully participate in society.

In Afghanistan, women are denied access to education beyond sixth grade, with Taliban policies banning girls from secondary schools and universities, further restricting their opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Spain to Host Third Conference on Afghanistan’s Women’s Rights in December
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Former Afghanistan President Ghani Calls for National Dialogue to Break Political Deadlock

November 21, 2025
ByFidel Rahmati
Khaama Press
November 21, 2025

Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani has called for national dialogue to confront the country’s crisis, saying unity depends on protecting national interests.

Ashraf Ghani has called for a national dialogue to address what he described as Afghanistan’s “deep crisis,” saying only shared national interests and values can unite the country. He said a broad internal and external conversation is needed to build a national consensus.

Ghani wrote that Afghanistan is passing through a “highly sensitive” historical moment marked by “great dangers” and new opportunities. In a note published on X, he said Afghans are demanding an “immediate and fundamental dialogue” that clarifies the boundaries of national interest and paves the way toward consensus.

He stressed that the country must urgently define the core of its national discourse, including how Afghanistan’s relationship with the world should be reset. He described the current situation, forced deportations of Afghan migrants, natural disasters and Pakistani military strikes, as “chaotic.”

Ghani said that if Afghans choose a path toward the future, political space must be opened to allow broad participation. “Our survival lies in acceptance of one another, in securing lasting peace, and balancing transformation with continuity,” he wrote.

He added that sustainable peace is the foundation of national sovereignty and future legitimacy, arguing that peace and legitimate governance are prerequisites for stability, security, economic growth and international acceptance. Afghans, he said, have been deprived of these conditions for nearly five decades.

Ghani reiterated his earlier call for a national people’s assembly to discuss political change and said he sought “nothing for myself.” However, he added that if the public demanded it, he was prepared to contribute to resolving the crisis and offering constructive pathways forward.

Former president Hamid Karzai and international partners have also repeatedly urged immediate national dialogue, but the Taliban have dismissed such appeals. Taliban officials insist the country has emerged from crisis under their rule and that Afghans should unite under their administration.

Ghani’s appeal comes amid the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan, repeated border closures imposed by Islamabad, a worsening humanitarian emergency, and ongoing restrictions on girls’ education and women’s rights under the current rule.

Former Afghanistan President Ghani Calls for National Dialogue to Break Political Deadlock
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Azizi Urges Expanded Trade with India, Slams U.S. Sanctions

November 21, 2025
Liluma Qadiry
Tolo News
21 Nov 2025

He also criticized Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan’s trade.

Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, during a meeting in New Delhi, emphasized expanding trade between Afghanistan and India and criticized what he called the “restrictive approach of the United States toward Afghanistan’s economy.”

Azizi stated that the United States has frozen around 9 billion dollars of Afghanistan’s assets and has also sanctioned the Chabahar port; an issue which, according to him, negatively impacts the trade and investment environment in the region.

He also criticized Pakistan’s policy toward Afghanistan’s trade.

Azizi added: “We also want to negotiate with the United States. I spoke with India’s Foreign Minister to raise this issue as well, because a five-month exemption for Chabahar port is not sufficient.”

He further said that there are broad capacities between Kabul and New Delhi for expanding economic cooperation, and that the goal of the Islamic Emirate is to increase the volume of trade with India.

The Minister of Industry and Commerce, while emphasizing the creation of investment opportunities in the country, also called on Indian investors to invest in various sectors across Afghanistan.

He added: “Maybe India offers the best opportunity, we cannot say anything for certain, but the competition among these countries is not comparable at all. In Afghanistan, for anything we decide to support, if 20% of production has started, we support it to that extent through tariffs; and if 50% self-sufficiency is reached, we support it by 50%.”

At the same event, Anand Prakash, head of the Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, announced that direct flights between Delhi–Kabul and Amritsar–Kabul will resume soon.

He stated that India and Afghanistan are working on activating new trade mechanisms to facilitate and expand bilateral trade.

Prakash also said: “Last month we had the historic visit of Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, to India. The visit was highly productive, resulting in the announcement of several new initiatives including a special air corridor, humanitarian cooperation, and capacity building.”

In conclusion, the Afghan Minister of Industry and Commerce emphasized that Sikh and Hindu communities of Afghanistan should return and contribute to the country’s reconstruction.

Azizi Urges Expanded Trade with India, Slams U.S. Sanctions
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Pakistani forces step up raids near the Afghan border, killing 23 militants

November 21, 2025
Associated Press
November 20, 2025

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided two Pakistani Taliban hideouts in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border, triggering intense shootouts that left 23 militants dead, the military said Thursday.

There were no details on any casualties among the military. The raids took place on Wednesday in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a military statement. The operation followed raids earlier this week across northwestern Pakistan that the army said killed 38 militants.

The military identified the killed militants as “Khawarij,” a term authorities use for militants they allege are backed by Afghanistan and India, including those linked to the banned Pakistani Taliban, a charge Kabul and New Delhi deny.

Also Thursday, a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed two police officers and wounded four in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district, local police officer Sajjad Khan said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and Khan said an investigation is underway.

The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — are a separate but allied group to Afghanistan’s Taliban. The group has become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has long urged Kabul to rein in the TTP.

A ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan has largely held since Oct. 19, when Qatar brokered a truce after both sides traded fire on border posts. The clashes erupted after Kabul accused Islamabad of conducting Oct. 9 drone strikes in the Afghan capital that killed several people.

Border crossings between the two neighbors have remained shut since last month.

 

Pakistani forces step up raids near the Afghan border, killing 23 militants
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UK Hosts Summit on Afghanistan Food Security Amid Rising Child Malnutrition

November 20, 2025
Khaama Press

The United Kingdom hosted a two-day summit in London to address Afghanistan’s food security crisis, highlighting urgent support needs for vulnerable populations and malnourished children.

The United Kingdom held a two-day summit in London last week to explore ways to improve access to food and basic nutrition for vulnerable Afghans, the British Embassy in Afghanistan said Thursday, November 20.

On the first day of the summit, the UK Foreign Office, experts, and partner organizations discussed the challenges and opportunities in ensuring food security across Afghanistan.

The embassy noted that participants also shared best practices for addressing food insecurity and strengthening humanitarian support for the most at-risk populations.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) emphasized its ongoing support for Afghan children, warning that 3.5 million children are currently facing severe acute malnutrition.

The summit builds on previous UK-led efforts in coordination with UNICEF, which focused specifically on addressing the needs of children in Afghanistan, highlighting the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Officials stressed that tackling food insecurity in Afghanistan requires a coordinated international response, combining immediate humanitarian aid with long-term strategies to ensure sustainable nutrition access.

The London summit signals the UK’s continued commitment to supporting Afghanistan’s most vulnerable, urging donors and international agencies to step up resources and interventions.

UK Hosts Summit on Afghanistan Food Security Amid Rising Child Malnutrition
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Afghan Children Face Dire Challenges on World Children’s Day

November 20, 2025
Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews’ Reporter

20 Nov 2025

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs stated that it has tried to support over 10,000 children.

November 20 marks World Children’s Day, a global occasion dedicated to safeguarding children’s rights and securing a better future. However, in Afghanistan, many children still face harsh living conditions and are forced into hard labor.

Barakatullah, a child laborer, said: “I am the head of my household. I work and bring home bread. I wanted to become an engineer, but after my father passed away, I left school and now I’m forced to work for my family.”

Mohammad, another child laborer, shared: “I’m 12 years old and live in a family of ten. My father has a cart, and I shine shoes myself.”

On the occasion of World Children’s Day, UNICEF has warned that children in Afghanistan are facing a range of crises.

Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, said: “Today is the World Children’s Day, and I want to use this opportunity to acknowledge the resilience of the children in Afghanistan, who this year have had to live through a devastating earthquake, a massive returning crisis, but also struggling with the daily reality of drought, malnutrition, access to education, water, hygiene, and sanitation. For us as UNICEF, no child should live through this.”

Diedrah, Head of UNICEF’s Central Zone in Afghanistan, also emphasized: “Today, World Children’s Day, is a day for us to remember that we want children at the center of all of our plans and policies from the beginning to the end, so the children have a chance to thrive and be the best that they can be for the future of Afghanistan. Happy World Children’s Day.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs stated that it has tried to support over 10,000 children.

Samiullah Ebrahimi, spokesperson for the ministry, said: “The Ministry has activated orphanages across all provinces to care for orphans. Currently, around 10,000 children are housed in these facilities.”

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a message on World Children’s Day, once again stressed the importance of access to education for girls.

In a post on X, Karzai wrote that it is time for the gates of schools and universities to be opened to all girls in the country. According to him, education is the key to Afghanistan’s progress.

He stated: “Our children can only have a bright future, contribute to national development, and compete on the global stage if they are given the opportunity today to acquire knowledge, skills, and expertise.”

Abdul Nasir Rashtia, an economic analyst, said: “Children are the wealth and capital of a nation. In the future, they can be instrumental in rebuilding and advancing the country.”

On this World Children’s Day, families and social activists are once again calling on the international community to pay special attention to the condition of Afghan children — children who will shape the nation’s future, yet today, are among the most in need of support.

Afghan Children Face Dire Challenges on World Children’s Day
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Pakistani forces kill 23 fighters in wave of Afghan border raids

November 20, 2025
By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies
Published On 20 Nov 2025

The border raids are the latest in a series amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistani security forces have killed 23 fighters in two separate raids near the Afghan border as tensions simmer between Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan and India.

Forces launched a “targeted operation” on Wednesday in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, the military said in a statement on social media, referring to the fighters as “khawarij”, the term it uses for banned groups, including the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The raid led to an “intense” exchange of fire, killing 12 people. No Pakistani military casualties were reported.

Forces then raided another location in the same “general area” and killed 11 more people, the military said.

The killings add to more than 30 that the military has reported throughout the week as it carried out raids largely in the same province, following an Islamabad suicide bombing on November 11 that killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 more.

Without providing evidence, Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed India for the attack, while Pakistani Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif also implicated Afghanistan. Last week, Pakistan arrested four members of an Afghan cell it accused of taking part.

Pakistan has long alleged that fighter groups are backed by India and Afghanistan, a charge that New Delhi and Kabul deny. Afghanistan has blamed Islamabad for violating its sovereignty through military strikes.

Peace talks in Turkiye’s Istanbul between Afghanistan and Pakistan recently ended without resolution, but both sides maintain that a ceasefire, however fragile, still holds after an eruption of violence between the two.

The Pakistan Taliban has been emboldened since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 after the United States’s withdrawal.

In recent months, the Pakistan Taliban – which wants to overthrow the Pakistani government – has escalated its attacks, which surpassed a decade-old high in August, according to Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

In 2024, the number of incidents recorded surged to 856, up from 645 in 2023.

Pakistani forces kill 23 fighters in wave of Afghan border raids
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Pakistan Army kills 30 militants near Afghan border days after Islamabad court blast

November 20, 2025
Edited By Ajaypal Choudhary
WION NEWS
Published: Nov 20, 2025

These operations were carried out less than a week after a deadly suicide bombing outside Islamabad’s G-11 district court, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 30.

Pakistan security forces killed 30 militants in several operations near its border with Afghanistan in the last few days, AFP reported, quoting the Pakistan Army. Twenty-three militants were killed in raids in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, and were related to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or its affiliated groups, the military said in a statement. It also accused India of supporting them in orchestrating strikes inside the country, a claim that New Delhi has rejected.

These operations were carried out less than a week after a deadly suicide bombing outside Islamabad’s G-11 district court, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 30.In a follow-up statement, the military said it killed seven militants in three separate operations in Mohmand, Lakki Marwat and Tank districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on November 18-19. “Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the military stated.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering terrorists, particularly members of the TTP, who are blamed for numerous deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has denied the charges, insisting that Pakistan’s internal security is not Afghanistan’s responsibility.

The relation between Islamabad and Afghanistan took a steep downturn in recent times, and the dispute over the Durand Line results in periodic skirmishes between the two countries. Mass deportations of Afghan nationals, who were living in Pakistan for decades, also further strained relations.

The Istanbul peace talks, after deadly border clashes in October, which killed over 70 people on both sides, have ended without any agreement, with the sides trading blame for the breakdown in negotiations to restore tranquillity at the Durand line and uphold the fragile ceasefire.
Pakistan Army kills 30 militants near Afghan border days after Islamabad court blast
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At a Shared Symbol of Jihad, the Taliban Defy Their Old Ties With Pakistan

November 20, 2025
By Mujib Mashal

The Afghan Taliban foreign minister arrived at the Islamic seminary to a rock star’s welcome. Students and teachers swarmed around his limo. Crowds of people streamed past me just to catch a glimpse of him.

But this was not in Afghanistan. The seminary he was visiting was in India, a country that had long kept its distance from the Taliban during their decades as an insurgency that New Delhi saw as a proxy for its archenemy, Pakistan.

During his first official visit to India last month, the Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, received the warmest welcome. He stood for photographs with officials in New Delhi after they promised to elevate India’s mission in Kabul to a full embassy for the first time in years. And I watched him openly beaming during his pilgrimage to the Deoband seminary in northern India, the spiritual source of the Taliban’s twinned creeds of conservative religion and holy war.

Through the years, Pakistan has taken any overture toward India as an inherently hostile act, and Mr. Muttaqi’s visit clearly crossed some line. Within hours of his arrival in India, Pakistan’s military was conducting airstrikes on the Afghan capital, an unprecedented escalation between the former allies that set off a wave of tit-for-tat violence and put both countries on a kind of war footing for a week.

Pakistani officials accuse Afghanistan’s rulers of supporting a resurgent Pakistani Taliban offensive by hosting and sheltering militants who have struck again and again at the security forces within Pakistan.

While Afghan officials deny that support, saying that the attacks within Pakistan are by internally inspired militants, they readily acknowledge a kinship with the Pakistani Taliban. Both groups are largely ethnic Pashtun, and both have common ties to the offshoots of the original Deoband seminary that Mr. Muttaqi visited.

The Deobandi schools in Pakistan cropped up after India’s partition in 1947 and later, with the aid of C.I.A. and Saudi money pumped into the region to defeat the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, helped fuel the jihadi creed that became the Afghan Taliban.

Now, the legacy of that ideology, which repeatedly rallied neighbors to fight invaders, has grown increasingly messy and is dividing the former allies.

That Pakistan would now be facing its own persistent jihadi militancy problem after the Afghan Taliban’s victory over the U.S.-backed Afghan government in 2021 is a result predicted by many analysts — and long feared within Pakistan itself. But the sheer speed of degeneration of relations between the neighbors has surprised many.

“They created their own Frankenstein, and they thought they could control them,” said David B. Edwards, a professor of anthropology at Williams College who has chronicled the rise of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was referring to Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, which initially supported the Taliban insurgency.

In the wake of recent military escalation, leaders of the Taliban government have resorted to rhetoric showing that cross-border Pashtun nationalism has not been tempered by decades of support and ideological injection from Pakistan.

The Taliban’s deputy interior minister, Mohammad Nabi Omari, who spent a decade in U.S. detention at Guantánamo Bay, has ridiculed Pakistan’s prime minister as a puppet of President Trump. And he used a pejorative term for Pakistani soldiers killed by Taliban fire that the Taliban in the past would use to describe American soldiers or security forces of the Afghan republic.

“God is creating a pretext for that old territory of Afghanistan that is left with them, on that side of a theoretical boundary, to be returned to us,” he told a public gathering in Afghanistan last month.

The 135-year-old Deoband seminary that Mr. Muttaqi visited was an important wellspring of conservative Islam for visiting Afghan scholars before its post-independence offshoots in Pakistan took precedence in recent decades. The school emphasized fundamentalist religious teachings over modern sciences, and its followers played an active role in the Indian independence movement against British colonialism.

Last month, leaders of the seminary beamed in pride at reconnecting with Afghan rulers who look up to their ideology. They refused to discuss some of the harshest measures of the Taliban government, including banning girls’ education beyond sixth grade, in the name of that ideology.

“Deoband is like the mother of our knowledge,” Mr. Muttaqi told a large gathering of students and teachers in one hall.

Opinion in Pakistani religious circles has been divided over Mr. Muttaqi’s trip to India. Leaders of the Haqqania madrasa in Pakistan, where he is an alumnus, described the red carpet welcome “of our proud son” as a celebration of the victory of “a long chain of jihadi sacrifice.”

Others, like the Peshawar-based religious scholar Tayyab Qureshi, saw it an expression of ungrateful Taliban seeking new patrons.

“Muttaqi, who learned his religious scholarship and even his Urdu language here in Pakistan, not in Deoband, needs to remember the sacrifices Pakistan paid in their support,” Mr. Qureshi said. “New Delhi is tactfully leveraging the friction between Islamabad and Kabul to advance its own agenda.”

Administrators at seminaries in Pakistan said that Afghan enrollment has dwindled over the past three years, after the Taliban administration set up hundreds of new seminaries of its own across Afghanistan, and Pakistan pushed Afghan refugees back in large numbers.

Now, a month after Mr. Muttaqi’s visit, Afghanistan and Pakistan are still seething at each other. And tensions have risen again between India and Pakistan after deadly bombings a day apart in each capital last week. Some analysts fear that a cycle of blame could bring those nuclear-armed neighbors back toward hostilities just a few months after the cease-fire that halted their alarming four-day military conflict.

In Afghanistan, leaders continue their defiant talk against Pakistan. They make little secret that their ties with the Pakistani Taliban, including their shared bond of conservative ideology, trumps any gratitude to Pakistan’s establishment for its past help.

In his public address last month, Mr. Omari, the Afghan deputy interior minister, warned Pakistan against any further military action. And he flexed the Taliban’s asymmetrical victory against American military might, wondering aloud whether Pakistan might be next.

“You may have airplanes and tanks, but we have the kind of fighters who are sitting here itching for when jihad will begin again,” he said. “Because, when you are addicted to, say, chewing tobacco — excuse my language — you can’t quit so easily.

“Our fighters are used to these wars over the past 20-25 years,” he said, “and they are wishing for another war to be rewarded with martyrdom.”

Zia ur-Rehman contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan and Hari Kumar from the Deoband Islamic seminary.

Mujib Mashal is the South Asia bureau chief for The Times, helping to lead coverage of India and the diverse region around it, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.

A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 18, 2025, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Alliance Unravels Between Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s Military
At a Shared Symbol of Jihad, the Taliban Defy Their Old Ties With Pakistan
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